Royal Challengers Bangalore 160/8 (20) win by 2 wickets with 0 ball to spare, Harshal 4(3), Siraj 0(1), Jansen 4-0-28-2
Jansen begins with a yorker. De Villiers keeps it out, and they run! Over to Harshal, whose slog clears extra cover, and they run two. He drives the next ball, a low full-toss, to mid-off for one. They need 3 in 3 balls.
Over to de Villiers. He flicks to deep mid-wicket and sets off. He wants a second, but Krunal’s throw to Kishan is on spot, and he falls short! OUT! AB de Villiers run out (Krunal Pandya/Ishan Kishan) 48(27)! 2 in 2!
Jansen comes round the wicket. Siraj, the new man, sets off after the ball hits his pad. Siraj has done his job, the scores are level. 1 in 1.
Fittingly, Harshal wins it for Bangalore. Bumrah, at fine-leg, dives to field it, but cannot prevent the single.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 153/7 (19), need 7 in 6 balls, de Villiers 46(25), Harshal 0(0), Bumrah 4-0-26-2
Bumrah attempts a yorker but it does not land. De Villiers moves away and lofts it over cover, it drops just short of the ropes. He gets two more through the vacant mid-wicket area. The next ball, he arches his back slightly and plays to the third-man fence.
But for some reason, Jamieson pushes one back to Bumrah and sets off. Thankfully they cross before Bumrah whips the bails off. De Villiers gets a run off the last ball. OUT! Kyle Jamieson run out (Jasprit Bumrah) 4(4)!
Royal Challengers Bangalore 141/6 (18), need 19 in 12 balls, de Villiers 34(20), Jamieson 4(3), Boult 4-0-36-1
De Villiers greets Boult back with a clean, straight six off the first ball. He slams the fourth ball straight down the ground, that is four runs. Fifteen of the over, but remember, Bumrah has one over left. This may be it.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 126/6 (17), need 34 in 18 balls, de Villiers 20(15), Jamieson 3(2), Bumrah 3-0-14-2
Bumrah returns for his third over (he will presumably bowl the 19th, too). He has barely bowled a loose ball today. And he gets Christian! Slightly short, and he cuts straight to backward point! Jamieson arrives, and inside edges one that Jansen and Boult both dive to cut off. They save a run in the process. OUT! Dan Christian c Rahul Chahar b Jasprit Bumrah 1(3)!
Royal Challengers Bangalore 121/5 (16), need 39 in 24 balls, de Villiers 18(13), Christian 1(1), Chahar 4-0-43-0
De Villiers comes to the party. The first ball is short, on off, and de Villiers rocks back and thrashes it past extra cover. The next ball flies somewhere over long-off, and Bangalore are back in this.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 106/5 (15), need 54 in 30 balls, de Villiers 4(8), Jansen 3-0-22-2
Jansen strikes first ball! Slightly short of length, Maxwell tries to clear fine-leg but cannot chip it over the fielder. Lynn tumbles forward to take an excellent catch. Shahbaz walks out ahead of Christian, is Bangalore imploding? He does not last either, holes out to deep mid-wicket! Three overs, 11 runs, 3 wickets… OUT! Glenn Maxwell c Chris Lynn b Marco Jansen 39(28)! Shahbaz Ahmed c Krunal Pandya b Marco Jansen 1(2)!
Royal Challengers Bangalore 103/3 (14), need 57 in 36 balls, Maxwell 39(27), de Villiers 3(5), Chahar 3-0-28-0
Chahar comes back to concede four singles in an over. Now, after eight runs in two overs, are Bangalore under some pressure? Maybe… just maybe?
Royal Challengers Bangalore 99/3 (13), need 61 in 42 balls, Maxwell 37(24), de Villiers 1(2), Bumrah 2-0-9-1
Rohit turns to Bumrah, and Bumrah rises to the task. Quick, came in slightly, rapped Kohli on the pads, huge wicket, this. Just four off the over, too, can Mumbai turn things around? OUT! Virat Kohli LBW b Jasprit Bumrah 33(29)!
Royal Challengers Bangalore 95/2 (12), need 65 in 48 balls, Kohli 33(28), Maxwell 34(21), Chahar 2-0-24-0
Now Maxwell is taking Chahar on. Slightly short, but he has already set himself up for the reverse sweep. The ball soars over the mid-wicket boundary. He has now outscored Kohli. Kohli, too, goes for the slog but mistimes… and the ball falls safely between mid-off and long-off.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 84/2 (11), need 76 in 54 balls, Kohli 30(25), Maxwell 26(18), Krunal 4-0-25-1
Krunal to bowl out. The first ball is tossed up, and Maxwell lofts it straight on the roof! Still early days, but it seems the Bangalore team management has silenced their critics, at least for the night.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 75/2 (10), need 85 in 60 balls, Kohli 29(22), Maxwell 18(15), Jansen 2-0-19-0
Jansen returns. He is really, really tall, but he does seem keen on bowling that bouncer. The Bangalore batsmen, too, are happy to nudge away for singles. Six runs off that over including two wides.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 69/2 (9), need 91 in 66 balls, Kohli 27(19), Maxwell 16(12), Krunal 3-0-16-1
An excellent over from Krunal – until the last ball, that is. Maxwell sees width, and immediately dismisses it over wide mid-off for four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 62/2 (8), need 98 in 72 balls, Kohli 26(18), Maxwell 11(7), Chahar 1-0-12-1
Chahar on, and Maxwell unleashes himself first ball. The reverse sweep rushes to the cover-point boundary. This is vintage Maxwell. A cover-drive to the fence, off the fifth ball. The target is below 100 now.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 50/2 (7), need 110 in 78 balls, Kohli 23(17), Maxwell 1(2), Krunal 2-0-10-1
Krunal continues. Kohli pushes at one and sets off for a single, but Maxwell sends him back. Hardik’s throw is off target, but only slightly. Four from that over.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 46/2 (6), need 114 in 84 balls, Kohli 20(12), Maxwell 0(1), Boult 3-0-21-1
Boult changes ends. The first ball is slightly short. Patidar knows there is no one manning the third-man fence, and casually picks up four runs. But the ploy to bring Boult back works, as Patidar chops one on to the stumps. OUT! Rajat Patidar b Trent Boult 8(8)!
Royal Challengers Bangalore 41/1 (5), need 119 in 90 balls, Kohli 20(12), Patidar 4(3), Krunal 1-0-6-1
Krunal comes on to strike second ball. It is straight and outside off, and Sundar goes for an indecisive hoick. Does not time, and easy catch at mid-off. Patidar arrives to pick up two singles and a brace.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 35/0 (4), need 125 in 96 balls, Kohli 18(10), Sundar 10(15), Jansen 1-0-13-0
Kohli welcomes Jansen to IPL with one of those trademark swivel pulls. It was not even that short, and yet he managed to play it to the right of square leg. Sundar, too, reciprocates, moving outside off to loft one over mid-wicket… and that is a no-ball. And Kohli lofts the free-hit ball over fine leg, one bounce, four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 21/0 (3), need 139 in 102 balls, Kohli 9(6), Sundar 7(12), Boult 2-0-16-0
Boult strays, this time outside off, and Kohli swats it past cover point for four. Boult does well to come back, beating Sundar outside off.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 15/0 (2), need 145 in 108 balls, Kohli 4(3), Sundar 6(9), Bumrah 1-0-5-0
Bumrah is no target straight away. Sundar plays one in the air past mid-wicket for two, then gets two more past point, but that is about it.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 10/0 (1), need 150 in 114 balls, Kohli 4(2), Sundar 1(4), Boult 1-0-10-0
We are back, as is Kohli, with Sundar (not the in-form Patidar, surprisingly). It will be Boult, not Bumrah.
Boult strays early in the innings. The third ball is a wide down the leg, past Kishan, for five wides. This is not good news. The fifth ball is straighter, and Kohli pushes it with firm hands past mid-off, Bangalore are off to a flier!
Mumbai Indians 159/8 (20), Bumrah 1(1), Harshal 4-0-27-5
Harshal to bowl the last over. Krunal attempts to clear the fence over cow corner with a flick, but finds the fielder in the deep. He gets Pollard, too, next ball, caught at deep mid-wicket!
The next ball, a yorker, passes between the bat and pad of the debutant Jansen. This is a superb last over so far, from Harshal.
And he cleans up Jansen with a yorker next ball, five wickets for him, what an over!
Another yorker, will Harshal finish with a maiden over? Surely another yorker? It is a yorker, and Bumrah pushes it to long-on. Chahar is run out attempting an impossible second run.
OUT! Krunal Pandya c Dan Christian b Harshal Patel 7(7)! Kieron Pollard c Washington Sundar b Harshal Patel 7(9)! Marco Jansen b Patel 0(2)! Rahul Chahar run out (Virat Kohli/AB de Villiers) 0(0)!
Mumbai Indians 158/5 (19), Pollard 7(8), Krunal 7(6), Jamieson 4-0-27-1
Jamieson to bowl out now. Krunal drives the first ball, and Kohli drops it at mid-off. It was certainly not a difficult chance. The fifth ball is short, and Krunal pulls for four. It was also a no-ball, so looks like Jamieson’s figures will be ruined.
But Jamieson is not going to concede this easily. The free hit ball is a yorker that breaks Krunal’s bat. The fifth is short, and Pollard goes for an almighty swipe. Top edge, four.
Mumbai Indians 146/5 (18), Pollard 2(5), Krunal 1(3), Harshal 3-0-26-2
A superb over from Harshal. He had almost got Kishan out off the third ball, but Siraj grassed a simple chance at deep square leg. But it does not cost him, for he gets him next ball with a yorker. Tough call, too, for they had to overturn a decision from Nitin Menon. OUT! Ishan Kishan LBW b Harshal Patel 28(19)!
Mumbai Indians 142/4 (17), Kishan 26(17), Pollard 1(3), Siraj 4-0-22-0
Siraj to bowl out. Begins with a bouncer. Kishan hooks, and the ball just clears deep square leg for four runs. The third ball hits Pollard on the chest. Excellent spell from Siraj.
Mumbai Indians 135/4 (16), Kishan 21(14), Harshal 2-0-22-1
Harshal on. The fourth ball is on the stumps, but Hardik is up to the task. He deftly turns it to the third-man fence. The last ball, a slower, hits Hardik on the pads. Out, says Menon, and Hardik reviews. But then, it is Menon… OUT! Hardik Pandya LBW b Harshal Patel 13(10)!
Mumbai Indians 128/3 (15), Kishan 20(12), Hardik 7(6), Christian 2-0-21-0
Hardik slams the second ball past Christian’s head – and almost takes the head with it. Apart from that, tidy over from Christian.
Mumbai Indians 120/3 (14), Kishan 17(10), Hardik 2(2), Chahal 4-0-41-0
An off day for Chahal. He continues to give the ball air, and Kishan slams the third ball into the sightscreen, then cuts the next ball to the fence.
Mumbai Indians 105/3 (13), Kishan 4(6), Hardik 0(0), Sundar 1-0-7-1
Washy, finally. Almost immediately Lynn slams him down the ground for four. But Washy has his revenge. Lynn goes for another almighty heave, mistimes, and the ball balloons in the air. Sundar has to sprint to take that catch. OUT! Chris Lynn c & b Washington Sundar 49(35)!
Mumbai Indians 98/2 (12), Lynn 44(32), Kishan 2(3), Siraj 3-0-15-0
Tidy over from Siraj. Lynn attempts to hit the fifth ball through cover and mistimes. The ball falls just short of the fielder.
Mumbai Indians 94/2 (11), Lynn 42(29), Jamieson 3-0-15-1
Jamieson returns (where is Sundar?). Kohli needs a wicket, and Jamieson finds the edge as Surya attempts and unusual cross-batted shot. The ball dies on AB.
The next ball is slightly pitched up, and Surya brings that bottom hand into play, playing a fast, whipping shot. The ball lands into the empty stands over mid-wicket.
OUT! Suryakumar Yadav c AB de Villiers b Kyle Jamieson 31(23)!
The decision to recall Jamieson finally works! Surya goes for a wild cut, but the ball is too high. He edges, and is caught behind!
Mumbai Indians 86/1 (10), Lynn 41(28), Surya 24(18), Chahal 3-0-26-0
Chahal returns. Runs have been coming easily of late, since that opening burst from Siraj and Jamieson. However, Mumbai are still not past the 100-run mark, and we are into the 10th over.
A tidy over from Chahal, then, just three singles and three dots. Bangalore have clawed back.
Mumbai Indians 83/1 (9), Lynn 40(25), Surya 22(15), Christian 1-0-13-0
Christian now. Still no Washy. Apart from Siraj and Jamieson, the Bangalore bowlers have not impressed.
The second ball is a tad short. Too close to cut? Not for Surya, he finds the gap through gully. Christian recovers, then bowls a wide.
Lynn dispatches the fifth to deep extra-cover. The fielder slides, but his boot touches the ropes, so that will be four.
Mumbai Indians 70/1 (8), Lynn 33(21), Surya 17(13), Harshal 1-0-15-0
Harshal on. He oversteps, and it is a free hit. Lynn gives it his all, and the ball soars over mid-wicket for six. Mumbai are now upping the tempo.
The fourth ball, Surya flicks past mid-wicket. Long, long chase for the fielder. He dives, but the ball rolls to the ropes off his fingertips.
Mumbai Indians 55/1 (7), Lynn 25(18), Surya 11(9), Shahbaz 1-0-14-0
Shahbaz on. They have to get his four overs out of the way.
Lynn slams the third ball past cover point for four. The next ball, he lofts it straight, for six. Almost strangely, seam has taken over Chepauk…
Mumbai Indians 41/1 (6), Lynn 13(14), Surya 9(7), Chahal 2-0-23-0
SIX! Lynn launches into Chahal! Chahal tosses one up, and Lynn is down the track to loft him straight over the bowler’s head!
The last ball of the over is a tad short. Surya rocks back and almost lazily places it to the vacant point boundary.
The experiment to use Chahal in the Powerplay overs has not worked.
Mumbai Indians 30/1 (5), Lynn 6(11), Surya 5(5), Jamieson 2-0-7-0
Change of ends for Jamieson. Surya is the new man. That ball that climbs up the batsman steeply, leaving him little space, but Surya simply deflects it towards square leg. Four.
The rest of the over passes without event.
Mumbai Indians 24/1 (4), Lynn 5(8), Chahal 1-0-12-0
Yuzi Chahal, then. Lynn pushes one back, then inside-edges one for four, then gives the strike to Rohit. And immediately Rohit steps out and lofts Chahal into the stands over long-on, about time!
OUT! Rohit Sharma run out (Kohli/Chahal) 19(15)!
Rohit pushes the ball towards cover point and sets off. Lynn hesitates, and by the time they decide it is too late. Kohli’s throw finds Rohit short.
Mumbai Indians 12/0 (3), Rohit 12(13), Lynn 0(5), Siraj 2-0-11-0
Siraj again. Not only Lynn, Rohit does not look comfortable either. Edges, mistimes, he is simply not connecting them.
Rohit decides to play for the low bounce. He hits Siraj on the rise, over a leaping mid-off for four, then flicks through mid-wicket for two more. Runs, then, though nowhere close to what Mumbai would have hoped for.
Mumbai Indians 6/0 (2), Rohit 6(7), Lynn 0(5), Jamieson 1-0-1-0
Jamieson, not Sundar. This is Jamieson’s first IPL match. He had really troubled the Indians when they had toured New Zealand about a year ago. He can extract bounce, but then, Rohit does play the hook really well.
The first ball is an attempted yorker, and Rohit keeps it out. Over to Lynn, and Jamieson continues to bowl full.
The fourth ball is just short of a length, and it does not take off. Lynn plays a half-hearted shot, the edge rolls towards the slips. The bounce is definitely lower than Lynn expected. This is not a BBL pitch.
Lynn comes down, a wild, wild attempt to break the shackles. Does not time. An excellent start to Jamieson’s IPL career.
Mumbai Indians 5/0 (1), Rohit 5(6), Lynn 0(0), Siraj 1-0-5-0
Aah, Siraj strays on leg, and Rohit clips him through mid-wicket for two. The defending champions are off.
Sure enough, he finds his line. Rohit attempts a pull-type stroke against the third ball and misses, too high.
And now Siraj strays again. Rohit flicks for two more runs. But Siraj does well to come back. Five runs and three dots in that over.
Sundar may open bowling at the other end.
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Rohit Sharma has walked out to the middle. Accompanying him is Chris Lynn, set to make the most of Quinny de Kock’s quarantine. Mohammed Siraj is doing those spot-jumps at the top of his run-up.
Any moment now.
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Playing XI, Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Marco Jansen, Jayant Yadav, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Playing XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Rajat Patidar, AB de Villiers (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Shahbaz Ahmed Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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No Quinton de Kock, either. Lynn will replace him for this match. Mumbai have made two changes from the final of the 2020 edition (do you remember that XI?) when they defeated the Delhi Capitals.
Marco Jansen, six foot eight (ar Rohit reminded everyone), is making his debut today for Mumbai. Terrific talent. Trust Mumbai to scout and come up with the likes of Jansen.
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No Devdutt Padikkal, then, confirms Kohli. Still recovering from that bout of Covid-19. Patidar replaces him. Maxwell, Jamieson, and Christian playing today as well, but apart from that (and Kohli), no final word on the playing XI.
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Righty-ho. Here is Virat, here is Rohit, here is Murali Kartik, here is VN Kutty, and here is that coin. Toss time at Chepauk.
Virat Kohli wins the toss (yes, you have read that right) and has opted to bowl. Kind of obvious – who would want to defend targets against Mumbai Indians?
Royal Challengers Bangalore have won the toss and have opted to bowl.
There is good and bad news in both camps. Mumbai has flown in Quinton de Kock in a chartered flight that included a biobubble-to-biobubble transfer. He may not need to quarantine. Unfortunately, the same may not hold for Adam Milne, who will not be able to play, just like Finn Allen and Adam Zampa of Bangalore. However, Devdutt Padikkal has recovered from Covid-19 and has resumed practice, and is set to open with Virat Kohli.
Hello and welcome to the tournament opener of the 2021 Indian Premier League in Chennai. Mumbai Indians, who have won the IPL a record five times including the last two seasons, will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore, yet to win their first title. However, Bangalore did turn things around last season to make it to the top four, so expect a cracking contest.